A consortium of Palestinian media and human rights activists and NGOs has launched a campaign to end the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip.
This campaign started in recent days as Gaza has entered year 16 of a stifling blockade that has affected all its vital (social economic and humanitarian) sectors.
The organizers of this campaign highlighted the blockade’s catastrophic impacts on Gaza including the resultant serious shortages of basic supplies such as food and fuel.
They also affirmed that the Israeli siege prevented Gaza from improving its economy in the long term and clearly affected the population’s access to education health care clean water and other vital services.
The Israeli occupation state imposed its blockade on Gaza after Hamas won the legislative elections in January 2006. Greater restrictions and sanctions were imposed in mid-2007 after Hamas took full control of the coastal enclave.
The Israeli army also carried out repeated military attacks against Gaza — including four major operations — causing the widespread disruption of its economy and production the destruction of large parts of its infrastructure and economic facilities and the death and injury of thousands of unarmed civilians.
